 All right if anybody if everybody here would please take your seats We're just about to begin We're a little behind I'm gonna try to keep it on schedule So thank you all for coming today, and this is the panel discussion, and we're gonna be I'd like to begin I guess first by by introducing the panelists First we have Joe Crivoza Who is an associate director for the Institute of Transportation? And energy efficiency did I get that right close enough? Yeah, I think I copied it down wrong But anyway, you see Davis energy programs you see Davis energy programs and it's former mayor Lovely fellow that I've known for years, and he's a he's a former member of a father daughter book club that I was a part of He's he was on the Puda Creek Council, and probably still is I guess I don't know and anyways There's been a lot of wonderful things Next we have not met well yeah next we do we have dong Zhao and he is a Humphrey fellow from China And he is in China he works with a public China meteorological administration, and I had to look up Humphrey Fellowship because I know it's pretty well known But it's a it's a fellowship That's been around since 1978 and it brings in mid-career leaders from developing countries to the United States For a year of academic study or Working to achieve to get professional experience, and he's working right now with the UC policy Institute of energy and an environment and economy and He's been here for about eight months, and I think it sounds like he's having a good good experience Next we have Emily Abdel Ghani, and she is a field organizer with the California Student Sustainability Coalition Solidarity organizing program. She's a formal fossil-free UC intern, and she's coordinated various programs. She coordinated the 550-person convergence at UC Davis cross-cultural center And she works at the intersection of social justice and environmental sustainability And there's one other panel member That better everybody one other panel member who's not here, but we'll be joining us Okay, and that is Sarah Zargoza Smith. She's from Davis High School She she had the wrong church that she went to this morning, and she's being picked up right now So welcome her when she comes There's no wrong church That's a very excellent point Joe. Thank you So what we're going to begin with is we're going to have the panelists that are here are going to give a response to the To what we've just heard and particularly Let's see if I can find this here This is the this is the prompt that they're responding to Kathleen Dean Moore Believes that we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of the of a planet in peril How do you view the climate crisis and what are your ideas? for effective climate action Including right here in our community and in this region So why don't we begin with Joe? Very good. Thanks, Craig. I really think of Craig is Katie Grayson Matt's dad. So it's it's great to be here Just a tremendous talk by by Kathleen weaving together so many so many wonderful Themes to to inspire all of us I have a very good friend who's a social anthropologist and he tells me that Everybody has something that's kind of at the top of their brain When they're going through their their day and it might be the relations with somebody else or a project that they're working on And so I wanted to try to think whether I'm on this panel because I'm the former mayor or because I work in the energy and transportation programs at UC Davis Or because I've done different things in the community But listening to Chris kick us off I thought you know know what I really am Is what's churning around in my brain right now are or how I'm going to finish the design dimensions on the new three Stage compost bin that I'm building for the side of our house in fact I see Ed Clemens back there who is my counselor in my compost bin project. So I feel qualified here. I think what for that for that main reason I'll also observe that those of you who shared with me that I'm the old guy on the intergenerational panel I just want to say I didn't need to be reminded. I noticed that immediately upon Seeing the program as it's presented here today But here's what here's what I wanted to share a little bit One of the questions was kind of how do we view a climate change and how do we respond to that? And I would say on an intergenerational Panel, I will observe a couple of things. I really do think about climate as an intergenerational issue I think about how we are passing on certainly our legacy in a wonderful planet One that we've enjoyed to our children and two things come to me in that one is that the best studies show That $1 spent today on mitigating the impacts of climate change Saves us at least $5 down the road. So if we're just trying to be fiscally responsible We want to put money in now and it's going to have a benefit for us later. The other is that every Piece of carbon molecule, however that goes into the environment is going to be there for 10,000 years plus So this isn't something that we cast up into the environment and then it's gonna eventually, you know blow away or find its way You know into the stratosphere and not affect us what we do today matters for a long long time So I want to talk about a theme though that that really has been dominant in my brain really since law school here in Davis and that is the the the idea of absolutes versus balancing and when I was studying natural resources law You always saw these different constructs in government that were either Unabsolute we were gonna say we were gonna protect this forest period or The construct would be one of balancing Where we'd look at well What is the effect gonna be on jobs or the economy or the status quo versus change and so on and And and that construct of absolutes versus balancing has come to always be present as the social anthropologist would say Really top of mind for for me and climate change to me Is the is the absolute there is no question about it This is a standard that we must meet the goal for California at least through executive action is we must reduce the carbon by 80 percent over 1990 levels by 2050 80 percent over 1990 levels by 2050 if that number is Wrong it is wrong because 2050 should be 2040 or 2030 and Everything I read in the paper tells me that we need to be moving that number sooner and sooner and sooner So then I ask myself applying this absolutes versus balancing How does that affect me on a personal level and how does that affect me in kind of a societal? Collective way and so I try to set my own Absolutes what are the things that I'm going to do in my daily life? That can can represent me and my family and those close to me that I love Achieving that 80% reduction by by 2050 and so you know I was I was the bike mayor We did the bike to AYSO. I think you know bike to your place of worship is a is a is a great aspiration Lucas and I made common cause on one environmental issue after another My friend Rob Davis here in the audience who's going to be with us more this afternoon speaking Really come to the city council with these ideas of always thinking on every decision What we can do to move things forward So that's that's kind of on the a little bit on the personal level I've you know I'm an EV driver in addition to being a bike rider and the latest goal has been to put solar Actually, we put solar in 13 years ago We just doubled our solar though so that our solar can cover all of the household electricity Obviously with a renewable but also our our Nissan Leaf which is a highly affordable wonderful wonderful vehicle And my last check after having the lease for 18 months was that we're putting 55% of all of our vehicle miles on the electric vehicle powered by solar So, you know, no carbon used whatsoever to power the car But still 45% on our kind of longer range vehicle the for the Volvo station wagon So I got got a ways to go there to do it. I want to talk a little bit about the collective though And the collective, you know, we need to think about government and I think we can't fool ourselves at all At the national level, we have gridlock in many many areas And we are not going to get a national climate policy that is going to start throwing big rocks in the river To start, you know a meander that we might all desire the Obama administration Let's be serious at the US EPA is working toward carbon-based regulations That are in the regulatory rulemaking phase that can be very very dramatic and that makes a difference You have a Congress that's not there, but you have an administration that's trying to move this forward through US EPA Second, he, you know, just signed this wonderful agreement back in December in China These are these 2030 accords and the goal there is a 26 to 28 percent reduction in carbon by 2025 and with President Xi of China Really dramatic stuff on the administration side, but not on the congressional side at the state level We should all recognize that Jerry Brown and his agenda for the second term Is got climate first and foremost. We have our zero mission vehicle standards We have our efficient vehicle standards for low carbon. We have our renewable portfolio standard Which says 30% of all the power generated in the state by 2020 should be by renewables We have our low carbon fuel standard. So California is the number one Subnational jurisdiction working forward and then coming more local Yolo County It was announced is now generating more renewable energy than Yolo County as the administration is You know needs that is tremendous at the county level and the city of Davis as we know has the at the first City in California to have the aspirational goal of zero net carbon by 2050 So so we're doing well, but I think we what I wanted to you know, encourage all of us to do is kind of think about how we participate in the collective and how we participate in our own individual lives and Three things I'll say the clothes here one is that Integrate these climate solutions into everything you do, you know It used to be that civil engineering was this this profession of building bridges and roads and so on now Civil engineering is this wonderfully creative integrative field of sustainability, you know, and that's very very exciting On a personal note also, you know, we're gonna have to make it fun We're gonna have to make it enjoyable. We are human beings. We like interacting with other people Kathleen's call to make this about love And she used the word fun is absolutely right because we wake up in the morning And we want to do things that we like with people that we like so find that space Where you're able to do that and I just want to close by saying I'm an optimist And I want to I want to point out something that I heard a week ago And that is the Sierra Club has a campaign called Beyond oil It started with a three hundred thousand dollar grant that somebody gave the Sierra Club and said try to do some stuff To get us off of oil. It is now I think in the range of fifty million dollars a year it has twenty or has a hundred and fifty permanent staff and They have mapped Every single carbon producing plant in the United States and they have a strategy For every single one of those plants to get it off It's it's staggering and for some of them It's because they're inefficient and there's a more cost-effective way to serve the public and others It's because it's violating air quality standards and they can get them off, right and and others It's just the values of the community that they're in should bring them down So let's all have our own personal and collective beyond oil Campaigns that we run and let's make that top of mind For us when we wake up and let's have fun and do it with love How about we'll go with dong okay Good morning everybody To my bank my academic background is climate change and Renewable energy and because of this background. I always been Getting asked Do you really believe that climate change is true? My answer always that definitely I do believe But for I think for those who don't believe climate change who will not take actions But before Talking about my point of view about Effective climate change actions. I will share you share with you Or story or my or about my bicycle Are the Humphrey fellows always there then your bicycle must be one of the most famous bicycle in the city of Davis Because I always Start my story with it. That's true Because that's really some of my important Ideas I come from this bicycle. I Come I arrived at the United States last summer and I know that Davis is famous for bicycling and it is friendly for bicycle so just After my arriving I bought my bicycle. It is really very good. It is light light and This high quality Yeah, and at the beginning I thought that This bicycle should be made in the United States or in a made in Germany Because I never see this brand in China But one day I found out that this bicycle is made from China Yeah, this made me to think about Made in China I Want to find some more stories behind the label made in China then I had a small investigation just in Humphrey fellow groups because we all knew we all fresh here. We need to buy a lot of things The outcome was Shocked me because most of the things we bought here are made in China Yeah So this then one idea one of the most important idea jumped in my mind That is everybody of us Have a factory or have many factories in China Because all these factories serve us with plant of high quality goods But in the meanwhile, we should Aware that This factor is not only generate goods they generate lots of Greenhouse gas emissions so When mentioned about take actions What should we do? Yeah, definitely climate change is a global issue Yes, because the atmosphere is boundless Right, but sometimes we only see this problem on the surface Yeah, we may say that some countries Have more greenhouse gas emissions and some other countries have less emissions So we blame we criticize the country who have more emissions But we always make neglect that why these countries have some so many so much emissions So this is because of the globalization Not only because of the people in that country So it's because all of us Because our consumption Yes So I think that climate change is really a crisis Why a crisis? crisis means that this problem is Urgent and we have no enough time To deal with this problem Right So what can we do? I? Think we have three ways in general the first is No before this I want to talk something about Climate change why it is urgent why it is urgent There is several reason the first is that Climate change and air pollution is associated this morning one lady Talked to me with a talk with me about China. It's about smoke so the Combustion of the fossil energy Will not only generate greenhouse gas emissions They also Generate a lot of air polluted Yes this and Many many developing countries are experienced serious air pollution events the smoke not only in China, but also in Pakistan India Many countries many developing countries soon We should take actions first as soon as possible because air pollution Will do harm to our health The second reason there is something something even worse Because in the context of global warming air pollution will be intensified by global warming because the global warming will reduce the wind speed and Also, it will decrease the air convection which disperse the air polluted and the third Under the Global warming context the background the extreme weather and climate change event will continue continue to increase and We here California is experienced extreme drought Yeah, this this may be the fourth year and in the other side on in the east coast first of this year they have experienced heavy snowfall and Just this this winter they may spend more than 35 million dollars just to remove the snow and Totally to the whole country more than five billion dollars is Worth shift off from the United States he called me he called me so all these things Give us a signal that climate change is Urgent it is a crisis so what can we do? Three ways the first is to reduce the energy consumption There there are many many steep tips to reduce energy consumption Yeah, when turn off your light when you don't need it on black Your charges. Yeah, when you don't don't charge your salesman or something And even if possible you can use the sunshine to dry your clothes don't use the wire But here I it is maybe not possible, but in China we all most of us use sunshine many tips and second maybe To increase energy efficiency so every year much of the energy are vested is vested because of the Transmission the heat loss as well as the inefficient technology So which is leading to increased carbon pollution? Yes, energy efficiency is another effective way to combat climate change So use energy efficient equipment use electric car or use small use small car not the big cars and build energy saving beauty So the third is to develop energy clean energy so which is also very important Vendor power solar power Hydro power and and there and biomass are all very important in the future so in my country we will increase the The clean energy will be achieved 20% in the Until they get to 2020 I think we are working hard in this aspect So the road map is very clear But take action is really very very difficult because people it is very difficult for us to change our life lifestyle It is really very difficult. Even all of us place a high value in Environment, but it is really difficult for us to change So we don't we need many things to push our us forward The first is technology, but technology is not enough. We also need innovative policy To California hold the leadership in sustainable development because of your policy So another important thing is public Participate so today this conference is a kind of activity of public Participate it is really very very important so and last I want to say that Climate change is a global issue, but to meet it climate change it is a local issue and even and we should Deal with it locally even personally if everybody or us can keep take a record of our daily energy use of our Greenhouse gas emissions that would be great Thank you. So finally Emily What do you have to say? I Climate change as a reflection of The current unjust systems that have been built up over the course of history I see the ramifications the earthly response as A cry for help that we need to change the way that we manage our Our resources and resources are not just natural. They're not just What's beneath the surface of the earth? We need to change the way that we treat each other and the way that our social systems are set up Because right now the burdens and benefits of environmental harm are not Equitably distributed because we do not live in an equitable world the access to sustainable technology or Lifestyles or what have you is not Going to be the same and that's because we don't live in a world where everyone has the same opportunities and We don't we also don't live in a world where everyone needs the same opportunities a Major sort of Rub that I've found Well, okay. I should do my background a little bit or you heard I went to UC Davis and I Was really loved the bike culture and I was inspired by the sustainability community, but the emphasis on Individual lifestyle changes Really didn't do it for me. I Really believe in collective action and that it's really great if you can adjust your lifestyle But that's not going to change On the level that we need Mostly because not everyone can do that so I think it's incredibly important for us to focus on Addressing the needs of communities rather than focus on what Each of us has like the privilege to do necessarily That's not exactly And also to be self-critical of of our work and who we are Mobilizing with It's very easy to stay within your bubble within your network to surround yourself with folks that think like you and look like you and live next to you and Work with you But it's not going to make the changes that we need to see If we stay within what's easy Because this is a crisis and it's much bigger than just environmental It's social. It's economic. It's interpersonal. It's on every level. It's not just climate change either I'm not totally decided on whether or not I think climate change is the issue of our time I think that it's a heck of an important one and is a reflection of other issues, but If somebody decides that they don't want to spend the rest of their life working on climate issues and instead they want to work on Race politics or gender equity. I'm not gonna say that that's less valuable. I'm not gonna say that that's the the lower road to go I Think it's more important that we work together and value each other's work and Strive to see the interconnections between our movements and to create those Interconnected communities then it is to Try to mold everyone to the view of Green or environmentalism Yeah, so I think I'm gonna leave it at that and you can ask me questions later First of all has Sarah come Sarah Not yet. Alrighty, right. I heard that Hard to find a church that's farther away so I Have a couple of questions before we turn to the audience and I'm and there are two questions and so I don't mean to Make this complicated, but I'm gonna ask ask each of you this we'll start out with Joe here Since this is an intergenerational panel Joe, what do you think that? younger people have to offer the older generations in terms of fighting the fossil fuel industry dealing with climate change and by the same token what do older people have to offer younger people in the same concerns I Think you know, I think younger younger offering the older Is tremendous because the the practices that the young Set now, you know, really are those pebbles and rocks in the river that are going to change things But if you think where we were 20 years ago, we had a transportation Mono culture that was internal combustion vehicles period you went to the gas station You know a posity of public transit in the United States and now where are we well? We've got Lyft and uber and you know zip car Abound we're we're we're shifting the whole investment in transportation infrastructure in California to increasingly, you know fun bike lanes and Complete streets and so on so I think that the practices of the young now are gonna reverberate and magnify in society going forward I also want to talk about social media and electronics Things that I just barely understand, but you know when we first saw lift and uber come I thought you know Big deal. We're gonna save some money. No question Some of us won't have to have a car because we'll use lift and uber We'll get a little more competition, but now Lyft has started this lift line service, right? So if you get lift and you do lift line, they'll find people along your line Basically to set up car pooling and shared rides and so in San Francisco now we're getting young people Spreading to the the other generations You know signing up for a lift trip and along the way going a little bit out of the way Saving 40% of their money and getting to the end having met two or three different people in the car You know that's that's new technology being used to reduce carbon get cars off the road older to younger You know I just think incredible encouragement to To to the young to to carry the mantle and to lead by example I mean those of us who I've got a little more means and a little more comfortable You know making sure that we you know get the electric car get the bike repaired Put solar on the roofs and start you know seeding those industries that can provide jobs for the younger generations Don could you enter that and if you wouldn't mind giving us maybe a few insights about The intergenerate the interplay of the generations in China. Oh Okay, but in my mind There is not big difference between the people and the young people, but if you want to On me to find some difference maybe for the young people their responsibility is to Develop high technology to deal with this problem and for the elder people. I think they they they are Much more active in my mind because many activities related to climate change They are there they are active Participate so I think the elder people May their role is to push the young people to deal with this problem together Yeah, and then How about you Emily I'm just to tell you I mean when when you're older you realize you're you're like the exception You're always the young one, but the go ahead. What do you how do you feel? I do you do you feel that there's mentoring relationships or you know what what do you? How do you view what the young have to offer the older generations the older generations have to offer the younger in this So I have to be honest in my community. I feel like I feel like the old person like I feel like Like whatever Like I feel like I'm tired a lot of the times But that might be a reflection of the fact that I like recently graduated from a College community and so I was like a senior and an often in the mentoring role, but um, yeah, I have definitely I Have some really incredible mentors that are not afraid to challenge themselves not afraid to Push past what they they basically they haven't stopped growing I think that's the most important part is that you you can't stop challenging yourself and stop Developing like Your ability to see the world for how it really is and how it could be doesn't stop with age And it definitely doesn't Have to start at any point in your it can start at any point in your life as well to begin to become Self and critical self-critical and critical of your work One thing that I Do have to say is on the policy level California and United States and global policy is often shaped by older generations and it can be very frustrating and Disempowering as a younger person to try to affect those those policies when we're often met with criticism of our idealism or our naivety When in fact, we're not really asking for that that much like That too crazy of things, right? We're asking for simple things like we should protect where we live We should fight for the rights of people. We should Have respect for one another being part of a community of of Youth climate leaders Often looks like us holding older people accountable because oftentimes older people have More power in certain spaces either financially or politically Just because California is seen as a leader doesn't mean that we're doing that great of a job as a leader It's bigger than carbon. It's it's bigger than net zero Anything because when you think about what the word net means it means that you are putting something out there You are wasting you are extracting still That impact can't be mitigated completely it just can't and And if that's idealist, I don't know I don't really care And I know you've already had an opportunity to speak but Kathleen could you Would you mind a? addressing this this sort of intergenerational issue what can one offer the other and Microphone Here let me yeah, you know, I want to I would I add a comment to what Emily said In that You got a mic now, but when I was a student leader I thought I had great ideas and I know in a number of instances. I did have great ideas and The elder the elders the the generation ahead of me Didn't didn't listen. I mean really didn't listen and I think we we owe We have a tremendous obligation to our youth who have been going to high school and college and thinking and reading the newest texts Really to hear what they have to say. I mean we read our newspapers We get our information, but you know students are really taking it in and then I have to say I have to confess That when I was mayor and I was older I had some kind of half-baked ideas and people really listened to me And did them and and I always thought hold on let's back up a little bit here I wasn't that serious about that So I think you know we really owe it to to the youth and and we have a great Responsibility I think when we're older because people are going to listen to us more to really make sure that we've got it, right? And is your microphone working there when you give it a tap? I trust it is Well, should we talk about the elders first? I mean there there is a tendency among people who have worked hard all their lives to think that now they come to their retirement They can rest on their laurels and that the world owes them now because they've given so much the opposite is true We have come I think elders to the peak of our ability to make change in the world We have the one resource that the young people do not have and that is time and So as they're struggling to make their way in the world and as they're trying to do their best They overwhelm with responsibilities But we who have done that and we really are able to bring our experience to some extent our privilege to some extent our wealth and Certainly our time to help in this process and we owe it to To our children and our grandchildren, so I wouldn't let any elder off the hook In fact, I would celebrate the energy of the elders I celebrate the the courage of the elders and the open-mindedness and the ability to think beyond their own worlds I think it's just a terrific resource that that I would like the AARP journal to stop sending in you know articles about about gallbladders and start thinking about bicycles So we must not allow ourselves to be wasted that mocks death to waste a single moment Young people you've been professor for so many years and they continue to blow me away They are outspoken and courageous in ways that we have been trained not to be They have a global view they think about justice in ways that we have been accustomed not to do and they are truth tellers With a degree of courage that and a degree of education that I think is is is a great gift to the world And Emily is a beautiful example of that. She's not cut in any quarter. Is she I mean? She's calling us to account and eloquently I would say so that that's what I would say, but look who we have So Welcome, we're so happy. Thank you And I didn't get a chance to speak to you and I have I don't have much of your biography here I know you're a student at Davis High School That's true My name is Sarah Zara goes a Smith. I'm a junior at Davis Senior High School And I'm 16 years old I you know this is I'm putting you on the spot here But I guess you volunteered for that duty when you decided you'd sit up here. Well, we've been talking about is How the generations can interact on this issue of climate change, what did what do the older generations? Have to offer the younger generations and have they been offering it and what do the younger generations have to offer the older Generations and I would and we would like very much to hear what you might think about that um so For me global warming has and climate change has been part of my life I don't know a world without it but what's been really important to me is Ever since I started going to school. I've been learning about it and learning how to help Slow it down and how to make it better. We would watch videos when I was younger About the three Rs reduce reuse recycle There's always been a wealth of knowledge that the older generation has been willing to give to me about what this is what's been going on and how we can try to stop it and try to Change things and make them better and that's been really important I think to my development and understanding of what really this is but I think that sometimes people Get lazy with it they They forget to pay attention to it as often as they can and I think that's what the younger generation can offer To the older generation so you guys can all give us knowledge and we can remind you Hey Keep working at it. We're still gonna be here for a lot longer We're gonna have children who are gonna be here for longer than that Keep working at it and I think that's what we can offer as well Thank you very much You know we had we talked about taking questions from the audience, but it's just about the end here and I know that that We want to keep this this this program on schedule so I I think we'll have to bring this panel discussion to a conclusion and If you could I think we'd have a nice round of applause for these panelists